Internal-combustion engine



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W. E. LODNEY'. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATlON FILED MAR. 13, 1916.

PatentedrApr. 27, 1920.";

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

vw'. E. LOCNEY.

INTERNAL comsusnow ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED M,AR 1.3, 1916. 1

' Patented Apr. 27, 1920..

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

5140 wow w. E. LOON'EY. INTERNAL CIOMBUSTI-ON ENGlNE.

APPLICATION FILEV'D'MAR. 1.3. 1.916

1 33 1 5 Patented Apr. 27, 1920..

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 wmw UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFIC WILLIAM E. LOONEY, 015 DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

INTERivAL-ooMBUs'rIoN ENGINE.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, VVrnnmrrE. LooNEY,

a citizen of the United States, and residing at Detroit, in the county ofVVayne and State of Michigan, have inventeda new and Improved lnternal-Combustion Engine, of.

through a continuous cam from-a'iseries of pistons to an engine shaft, and .among its p i shown, the engine casing coniprlses the m oppositely arranged pairs of reciprocating .important features are a tapered cam track (as distinguished .from a groove), together with oppositely disposed conical rollers carriedby thecross-heads that join the piston rods of the corresponding pairs of pistons, the configuration of the cam faces being such that the rollers remain in contact therewith throughout the stiilike, whereby knock- 1 ing and binding are avoided; longitudinal guides for supporting the. cross-heads where they bridge the cam; lubricating passages associated with the guides; improved means forigniting the mixtures in the cylinders successively after an initial. ignitlon has been secured by spark plugs carried on the valves; means for conducting current to a.

spark plug carried by an inclosed rotating valve; means for maintaining a tight seal between the valves and the members in reference to which they rotate. The invention also. consists in the details of construction shown, described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a half-plan half longitudinal section showing a prefer-- red embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged section showing the manner of sealing the joint between the valve and the casing. Fig. 8 is a similar section through a modified valve and associated parts. Fig. 4 is a' longitudinal section through one of the combined intake and exhaust members. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4:. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through the cross head guide member. Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a cross section through one of the cylinder forming members. Fi 9 is a section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8, ig. 10 is an elevation of one of the valve members. Fig. 11 is a section on the line 1111 of Fig. 10. Fi 12 is a composite section, the upper half lweing on the line 12-12 and the lower half being on the line 12 -12 of I Fig. 10. Fig. 13 is an elevation taken from outline offthe cam and the relation of its faces to the rollers on the pistons. Fig. 16

' Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr, 27, 1920, Application filed March 13, 1916. Serial-No. 83,737. I i

is a part elevation part section. of one of the double piston rod and crossfhead construct ons. Fig. 17 is a fragmentary plan view corresponding thereto.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of the. invention take and exhaust members 1., l, the cylinder members 2, 2 (which include the inner tubula'r portions 3, 3) ,and the cross-head guide member 4 bolted together-iin any'desired way. The several parts mentioned and the exhaust manifolds 5 are fixedifin position;

Extending longitudinally through the cas ing is the engine shaft 6 (that may be supported in antifriction bearings 7 recessed.

into the members 1 and held in position bythe threaded collars 8) to which the rotatable centrally arranged cam carrying mem her 9 is rigidly secured. Also secured to the shaft in such manner as to prevent relative rotation, although relative longitudinal movement may be allowed, are the valves 12. Bushings 1.3 may be interposed between the shaft and the inner portions 3 of the members 2,'and the cam member may be locked against an annular shoulder 15 on the shaft by means, of a threaded collar 16.

however, that the thrust may in some in- P stances be transmitted to the shaft before being carried into the casing; such, for example,. wouldbe the case were thrust bearings interposed between the inner race ring of the bearings 7 and the corresponding collars 8. Torque from the engine shaft is, of course, taken off in any desired way.

It will be observed (Figs. 8 and 9.), that each of the. cylinder sections includes a p111 rality of cylinders 20 (as shown nine, although other numbers, for example, six or ten, may be used to advantage), and that the cylinders of one section are arranged in alinement with those of another. Reci roeating in the cylinders arep'istons 21, igs'.

1, 16 and 17 of suitable construction, that are joined by means of the piston rods 22 (integral therewith in Figs. 16 and 17; seprollers 31 are'carried, hardened bushings preferably being interposed.

These rollers ride upon the correspond ingly inclined surfaces of a cam 35 preferably formed as an integral part 0 the.

member 9; this cam may be said, generally speaking, tobe of a continuous double V' or wave configuration, the main portions lying at angles of substantially 45 to the. axis. of the cam member, but the construction will bemore precisely understood from a con;

sideration of Fig. 15; The dashed lines shown therein indicate several positions of the different sets of the rollers in their recip rocatory movement relative to the cam cit being remembered that the cam moves through between 'the rollers and that the latter are incapable of movement in a direction at right angles to the line joining the centers of each pair. The distance between the faces of the cam at the peaks, that is, at the turning points 'of the V bends or waves,

is equal to the distance'between the centers.

of the rollers minus the sum of the radii thereof; and at other points this distance is such that the rollers are always'in contact with the respective faces. Since the rollers are of conical form and since the cam sur 'faces are correspondingly 1ncl1ned,'1t follows that binding is entirely avoided; at the same time the cross head may be soproportioned as to cause the rollers to tightly embrace these faces, even to the extent of 'establishing a slight inward thrust of the portion 25 against the guide, whereby knocking 'of'the rollers against the cam, such as might otherwise take place, is prevented.

As'shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 7,.the guide member 4 is grooved at 26 to correspond to the portions 25 of the cross heads, and these grooves may be lubricated through openings 41 by means of a pressure system (not shown) or in any other suitable manner.

Such portions of the'oi'l' as is swept out through the ends of the grooves is deposited in the annular grooves 12 formed in the end faces of the guide member and escapes through openings 43 to which the pump v (not shown) of the pressure system may be connected in an obviousmanner.

The intake and exhaust members, F

1 and 5, are each preferably shaped to form a central tubular intake passage 44 to which a mixture of air and gas may beadmitted,

through either or both of the laterally extending passages 45, from any desired source (not shown); they also include exhaust passages 46 that are farther from the center of the engine shaft than the intake passages, and which communicate with the exhaust manifolds 5. While the intake and exhaust passages are shown in pairs (which renders the. membersduplicate and avoids the use of extra patterns), it is clear thatbutone of each may beused.

y'qAs stated heretofore, valves 12 (Figs. 1, 10,. 11, 12 and 13) .are interposed between the members 1 and 3. These valves each include 51 of which registers constantly with the passage 44:; the exit opening is .an arc shaped port 52 in alinement with the end of i the cylinders 20 and of such length as to'fill 'th'e 'latterwhile the valve is. passing thereover. An exhaust passage .or port 53, also of v are shape, allows the burned gases to escape point between the intake and exhaust ports. the valve is provided with a spark plug 56 -whichreceives current from any suitable source through the "annular conductor 58' with which the contact 59 on the plug is in engagement or in close relation-it will be understood that'thecondu'ctor is supported and insulated in any'prefei'red manner, for

example, by the ring 60, Fig. 1. In order to allow for access to the sparkplug, the

members 1 are provided with removable threaded plugs 61.

anintake passage 50, the entrance opening into the exhaust passages 46. At the proper .90

The face of the valve is provided with a circumferential groove.

62 of suflicient length to lap over from one the groove extends from the opening 63 in "which the spark plug is inserted, but it may be located otherwise and may vary in shape.

One purpose of the groove is to afford a passage for allowing the flame from the nearly burned charge (which has'been ignited by the-spark'plug) of the rearward one of any two cylinders to be communicated to the :fresh charge in the cylinder next forwardly thereof, thus providing for a continuous firin of the charges independently of the spar: plug after initial ignition has taken cylinder to the next followingas shown place. In order to insure a proper sealing of the joint between the valveand the memher '1, they are, respectively, provided with overlapping annular flanges 65-66, and the member 1 may be gro 'ed, outside of the flange 65 on the valve, to receive packing 68. The valves may be held in close engagement with the-.ends of the cylinders by meansof rings. 80 (Figs. 1 and 2) that are'p'revented from turning by pins 81 projectingfrom the members 1 and received in slots 82 cut across the periphery of the rin Springs 83, seated against the outer wal of the members 1 and pin connected at 84 to the rings, thrust shank 86 of the valve may,

the latter toward the corresponding valve, and the valves may be grooved to receive packing 85 whereby leakage through the joint is prevented. As shown in Fig.3, the however, be ex tended to bear directly on an annular ball bearing '88 that engages with the end wall of the intake-exhaust member. f

As Will be observed in Figs. 1, 8 and 9, the cylinder members 3 inclose inner chambers 70 and. outer chambers 71 joined by, passages 7 2 whereby cooling Water The combustible mixture supplied to the members 1 from any desired source passes in through the passages -44 to the pas-.

sages of the .rotating valves, and from them is successively distributed to the cyli ders as the ports 52 register therewith; It

will, of course, be understood'that correthe valves are placed .90

spending points of apart around the engine shaft, which'causes phases in the heat cycle of the cylinders at one end to lag 90- behind corresponding;

phases of the opposite 'cylinders. Ignition once having taken place from the spark plugs 56, is communicated from cylinder to cylinder through the grooves 62,tl1us form} ing a means supplementary or additional to the plug for causing the explosions whereby a morecertam and-uniform action is in-- sured.

The pistcn impulses, transmitted .to the .cam member through the rollers 31, cause .the member and the engine shaft to rotate in, an obvious manner. The operation of the remaining elements is apparent or-has "been already pointed out. i

It is obvious that the details may be changed considerably without departing from thespir'it of the, invention; and I do not, therefore, Wish to be limited otherwise than as indicated by the 1. An internal combustion engine comprising ;a rotatable engine shaft, a Wave-like cam rigid and co axial therewith, a pair of fixed opposed engine cylinders arranged parallel with the engine shaft, said cylinders .forming combustion chambers, pistons subjgined claims.

cam rigid bers, plstons sha chamber, a piston and a piston rod for the I for the cylinders, means joining the pistons,

said means including a cross-head, antifriction members carried by the cross-head and engaging opposite faces of. thecam, a casin inclosing'the cam and associated par-ts, sai

casing including a a groove therein parallel to 'the engine shaft and closed to the exte-k rior of the casing in which the cross-head v N707 slides. v

- 2. An internal combustion" engine comprising a rotatable engine shaft, a wave-like and co-axial therewith, a plurality of pairs-of fixed'opposed engine cylin 'ders arranged parallel with the engine shaft,

said cylinders forming combustion f cham l for the cylinders, means joina ,ing the members of each pair of pistons;

each oiisald means including a. cross-head,

anti-friction members carried by said'cross:

heads and engaging opposite faces of the cam, a casing includin guides, parallelf'to the engine shaft, in which the several cross heads slide,

said casing also including'acircumferential channel into "which the. guides open at their ends in which lubricant for the guides may collect. H

3. An internal combustion engine comprising an engine shaft, a wave-like cam rigid and co-axial therewith, a fixed engine cylinder arranged parallel with the engine 1 ft, said cylinder forming. a combustion cylinder, anti-friction means whereby a thrust of the-piston rod isimparted to the cam to cause rotative movement thereof,..

and a valve, rotatable with the engine shaft, for controlling the admission of combustible mixture-to the cylinder, a spark plug carried by said valve, and means for conduct-. ing current to the plug to cause ignition of the mixture,

4. An internal combustion engine comprising an engine shaft, a "Wavelike cam rigid "and co -axial therewith, a series of .fix'ed engine cylinders spaced around the shaft and parallelv thereto, ,said cylinders piston rodsfor the cylinders, anti-friction means whereby thrusts are imparte'd'to the cam to cause rotative movement thereof, a valve, rotatable withthe engine shaft, for'controlling the admission of combustible mixture to the cylinders, means carried by said valve for ignitvalve including a passage whereby the ignited charge is brought into communication with a fresh charge in the cylinder next ahead to cause ignition thereof. 1

WILLIAM E. 'LooN-EY.

of the piston rods forming-combustion chambers, pistons and,

.115 mg the charge in one of the cylinders, said 

